Monday, 16 February 2015

Fit at last, last few days in Thailand, heading to Mae Sot - border town

Li to Thoen - 55 km  this is the only road we have done both ways and it was so much better going this way. Just a small climb to start and then a 30 km plus gentle downhill through lush shady bush.
We were there before lunch. Met up with the dutch cyclists again in the evening, but for beer this time.
Thoen to Bhumipol dam, 84 km, avoided the highway and took lots of little roads along the Ping river, flat ride but took all day. The accommodation was about 6 km from the dam. Met a German lady from Sri Lanka who had a hire car so we went with her to see the sunset at the dam which was nice. Biggest dam in Thailand, though very low on water. Also found the giant bike that we had seen photos of. The photo of the trees wrapped in cloth means they have been protected by the monks and cannot be cut down, we have seen it a lot.
Dam to Ban Tak, 35 km, enjoyed sticky rice cooked in bamboo for lunch along the way and dinner by the river.
Ban Tak to Mai Ramat, 98 km, 7hrs 40 riding time!!
We wanted to avoid the truck and bus highway from Tak to Mai Sot as we had heard it was not good for cyclists so opted for the lesser known remote mountain rd and tried not to be put off by non cyclists saying it would be impossible to ride.  We left early carrying extra food and water in case we had to camp on route. 10 km warm up then 20 km up through a valley to the top of the first range of hills. There was actually a village near the top and a brand new restaurant/guesthouse where we had an early lunch and contemplated staying but it was only midday so carried on. Up and down then up up up, our speedos down to 4 km per hr finally making it to the 2nd summit at 65 km. We came across the elephant crossing sign, not sure what I would have done if one had come  lumbering out of the bush...also some very remote villages with no obvious roads to them. As we were heading down a hill the school transport of 3 utes with high sides packed with about 50 kids standing up in the back was heading the opposite way.
A small shop at the top selling cold drinks, we sculled 2 each.  Plus chips, and a well needed rest! But I do believe we are fit!! No way could we have ridden that a couple of months back. It was epic. Down and undulating to Mai Ramat and found a place to stay with a comfy bed just before dark.
Mai Ramat to Mai Sot - 36 km. A no rush day. Early lunch by the river, then stopped down the road further over ice coffee for at least an hour, checked out lots of accommodation before we found the perfect spot for a couple of rest days. Wandered through the night and morning markets, spotting food I did not want to eat... Lots of fried bugs.
The main road into Myanmar has traffic going west one day then east the next because it is narrow, our first day will be 67 km.
Getting mentally prepared to be off the grid and out of touch as we have heard the internet is not very good.. Will be interesting, we have a 28 day visa.
So far we have ridden 5800 km, hard to believe!

3 comments:

  1. hi there again , only me , don't know where everyone else are who were going to reply , I send your url around again
    Good photos , give a insight to the land yes ya must be fit, fancy doing 98 kls one day
    mum lib an am home from the wedding, said was a nice wedd.. got home about 11.30pm mon night/ very hot here today
    had a man put in a new heat pump today ,
    the other one blew its guts
    ok keep safe love dad

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  2. You guys are freaking legends. What a life! Stay safe, Big Hugs xx

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  3. Right I will count 28 days, I've sussed where Mai Sot is, your map makes me cross eyed so amazing what you are doing. I'm just a little bit jelly. Enjoy Myanmar, such a new destination for the rest of the world, can't wait to hear about it.
    xx

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